Gaming Addict Neglects Kids, Loses Custody
A woman's children supposedly lived in animal waste for years while she spent all her time playing PC games online.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania TV station WPXI (Channel 11) reports that a woman was so addicted to online computer gaming that she neglected her six kids and house for years.
Tuesday's Channel 11 report didn't state how Uniontown police discovered the unsanitary situation. Officer Mike Garrow Sr. indicated that the neglect was the result of Elizabeth Ruffner's addiction to online PC gaming. He didn't provide an actual list of titles that fed her alleged addiction, yet Channel 11 displayed footage of a Grand Theft Auto game in its video report anyway, claiming it to be one of many.
According to Garrow, Ruffner's six children--all under the age of 11-- lived in filth and animal waste as she sat glued behind the PC monitor. "There was no food in the cupboards," the officer said. "The bedrooms had mattresses on the floor with no sheets or pillows. It looked like they got these mattresses out of the junk yard. They were just filthy."
Ruffner wasn't the only adult living in the house. As the TV reporter and cameraman were shooting footage of the Mifflin Avenue home on Tuesday, husband and step-father James Boord came out and spoke in a brief interview.
"I've been working, and I couldn't have been home to take care of them [during the day]," he claimed. "I cleaned them. I gave them their baths at nighttime for school. I cleaned up after them. It just became too much for me to do."
Ruffner was "unavailable" for questioning.
Police said that the stepfather did make an effort to take care of the children and maintain the house. Eventually it became too hard for Boord to handle all six children alone. There's a good chance Boord approached someone in regards to pulling his wife away from her obsessive gaming, thus triggering a call to the Department of Social Services who in turn now have custody of all six children.
Garrow told Channel 11 that the Uniontown police department is currently planning to file felony child endangerment charges-- it's unclear whether Boord will be included.
Ruffner allegedly still has her computer.
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You can be addicted to anything if you're prone to addiction..
I think some one should quote that one lol.
"Ruffner allegedly still has her computer."
Well, just so long as she still has her computer the world will continue to spin.
It's just sad that people can get so addicted to games that they give up on the life around them.
It's especially sad when other people or pets are impacted by one person's habits, especially if that means 6 starving kids.
Man talk about messed up. Irresponsible!
On Joking note:
If she was my wife I'd be like give me that damn computer it's my turn.lol JK
You can be addicted to anything if you're prone to addiction..I think some one should quote that one lol.
Pretty much. Some people just have addictive personalities. They get "hooked" and sucked in to things. Be it smoking, Facebook, farmville, or busting a cap in someone's GTA4 ass.
She USED to be hooked on sex, judging by the number of children she has. (Please...please. I don't need someone to tell me that their farm family has 7 children, and it's normal for them)
Please tell me farmville was one of those games. I know you're all thinking the same thing.
Ugh the woman disgusts me. If she was my wife I'd throw HER and that damn computer in the street...
please those local news stations just make facts up as the day goes along no one is addicted to GTA especially the PC version. Is there a GTA PC community??
"You can be addicted to anything if you're prone to addiction"
I think some one should quote that one lol.
Done
please those local news stations just make facts up as the day goes along no one is addicted to GTA especially the PC version. Is there a GTA PC community??
Yes there is, it's GTAForums, the modding community and even the online community has quite a few people.
I play games, yes. I am a gamer, yes (pretty hardcore one, too). I also love science fiction movies and other nerdy things. But would I neglect my house, wife and children to feed my habits? No. My girlfriend (soon to be fiance) knows that I do, indeed, love video games and other nerd stuff... but would I ever choose to game or watch movies over doing something with her? Definitely not. I spend a lot of time on them, but never do I neglect my girlfriend enough to make her feel as if I love her any less.
Honestly, it is women like her that should have never been given the privilege to birth a child, let alone six. Disgusting.
Farmville? Please.
$50 says she had a L80 hunter in WoW
Good on the the guy for trying to keep things sorted. I hope he ends up with the kids
So none of the kids had the common sense to help their step father try to clean up.
Don't feed me that BS they were all to young to do so either; I know first hand I did plenty of chores under age 11.
What's the over/under on the mother becoming a meth addict in 1 year?
Farmville? Please.$50 says she had a L80 hunter in WoW
*85
Fixed for you, good sir.
If I had six loud and obnoxious little crumb crunchers in my house I too would be addicted to video games
If I had six loud and obnoxious little crumb crunchers in my house I too would be addicted to video games
Yea those damn kids popping up out of nowhere... wait a minute those kids were her decision too, there is no excuse she can use, it is all her responsibility and she is at fault.
I think everyone is missing the biggest thing here everything from the article to every comment and that is...
But can her PC play Crysis?
I feel there is more to the story. The media likes to stretch the truth when it comes to video games. I remember watching some story about how World of Warcraft is a sexual playground.
I'm not sure what game they where playing.
If she has atleased a 5870 or a 480 I'll buy them off her.
tsnor are you seriously trying to blame the kids. You had chores to do because you were made to do them. You have no idea what their life is like, and their parents are. Sounds like the step father tried, and I feel for him.
This is a step better than that crazy couple who's baby died 'cos the idiots were on farmville..... at least this step prevented something like that from happening....
Nowadays, the parents are just not serious enough about their kids.... it's like they feel the kids are like those Japanese robotic birds, that you feed twice a day and they stay alive and if you don't they die and can get another one....
Tragic, but we are loosing something along the way which we don't seem to be noticing......
Maybe, just , Humanity.....
:rofl
rofl
Good on the the guy for trying to keep things sorted. I hope he ends up with the kids
He's a terrible father. You think that all happened over a weekend? He's been allowing the kids to live in filth for months! Neither person should be allowed custody of any kids ever again and both should be hit with felony charges. Seriously, you congratulate a guy because he made a minimal attempt to clean a house, then gave up and lived in filth?
I hope you don't think it's okay for a guy to let his kids live in filth because his wife is busy.
He's a terrible father. You think that all happened over a weekend? He's been allowing the kids to live in filth for months! Neither person should be allowed custody of any kids ever again and both should be hit with felony charges. Seriously, you congratulate a guy because he made a minimal attempt to clean a house, then gave up and lived in filth?I hope you don't think it's okay for a guy to let his kids live in filth because his wife is busy.
I think the situation is far more complicated than that. I'm not defending the guy in totality, but if he was working, he was at least trying. He probably didn't even know what to do. Report his own wife? That's a tough pill to swallow and may take time before he realizes it needs to be done. Once the situation got out of hand, he finally had the guts to do it. Better than not at all.
please those local news stations just make facts up as the day goes along no one is addicted to GTA especially the PC version. Is there a GTA PC community??
Very much so. In fact there was a online version of most of the GTAs out there (GTA III, VC and SA) well before GTA 4 came out due to the GTA PC modding community. Back for GTA III, we had the ability to add in custom cars like a real Viper or 67 Shelby. We also got to turn the RPG into a nuke. That pissed the cops off a lot.
As for the lady, I hope she gets what she deserves. The step-father, he could have canceled the internet or destroyed the PC. Then again that can bring violence. If he did what he could he shouldn't be included in the charges.
After that say "No kid for no brain people" or if they have one go fast for abortion.
People will want to kill you.
Human are really a idiot species!
Hmm, it looks like when not gaming she only produced babies, literally.
Hmm, it looks like when not gaming she only produced babies, literally.
She didn't had time to take the prevention pills between the gaming and bed!
Not to sound like a commie or anything, but-there-needs-to-be-SOME-type-of-mandated-birth-control. Six kids? Six?! You should have to take a test in order to bear children. Also, you must have certain income levels to have X amount of children. No offense, but the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, and these kids probably aren't going to grow up to be the sharpest tools in the shed. I suppose to we could have radiation sterilization satellites in the sky or something...
I'm glad they didn't name the games. WoW could have been in there and I would have felt bad. Now let's get back to... wait. Didn't I have 3 kids? Why is there only 2 playing in the dog's poo? Meh, whatever.